Okemos, Lansing, East Lansing MI
Only the most fortunate of people have managed to live their entire lives without some issues with their teeth. Indeed, even the most attentive to cleaning and regular dental visits might encounter trouble with the mouth from time to time, even if that trouble is the occasional bleeding gums during brushing or aching while eating hot or cold foods. Far less fortunate are those who are confronted with severe pain in the teeth. Since excruciating pain in other areas of the body may require a visit to the emergency room, it is only logical to assume that this may be the best procedure for agony in the teeth, as well. However, this is not always the best avenue for effective treatment; in fact, the emergency room is not the place to go for tooth pain in most cases. Why is this? Is there any circumstance when going to the ER is the best course of action? And if the emergency room is not the best place to seek relief, what would be better?
Dentists for dental emergencies
Simply put, the best person to help with severe dental pain is a dentist. There are a number of reasons for this, and the most important is training: dentists in the United States must complete an undergraduate degree followed by dental school, a four-year program which deals almost solely with the mouth (compared to doctors at emergency rooms, for whom the mouth is just one part of their training). Most emergency rooms do not actually have dentists on staff, so a dentist’s office is a much better place to go to receive specialized care.
Furthermore, a patient’s own dentist will be familiar with any conditions he or she has in the mouth, which will allow for a greatly accelerated diagnosis and much more rapid treatment. Unless the pain has some definite, life-threatening cause, a dentist’s office is the best place to help with severe tooth pain, and many will squeeze in an emergency appointment if the pain cannot be managed with at-home painkillers.
Of course, unlike emergency rooms, a dentist’s office will have hours in which it is not open, which can make it difficult to get treatment if the pain sets in during these times. Even so, many dentist’s offices have phone numbers to call for after-hours emergencies. Furthermore, many cities and towns have emergency dentists. These, like emergency rooms, are open at all hours, and they specialize in dental emergencies.
Emergency Room visits
There are, of course, certain cases in which tooth pain might entail a visit to the emergency room, but in these cases, the pain is usually connected to other circumstances. For example, if the pain is the result of an injury to the face that has possibly broken facial bones, an emergency room is warranted (and recommended). Likewise, if the pain comes from having an adult (permanent) knocked out or greatly loosened due to an accident or some other misadventure, then the emergency room staff would possibly be able to set the tooth until a dentist’s visit can occur, though an emergency dentist would still be better in this circumstance. Whether or not bones were broken or teeth were lost, a mouth injury that causes persistent bleeding would best be treated at the emergency room, as would tooth pain accompanied by swelling, chills, fever, or difficulty swallowing since these are signs of an infection which an emergency room could treat.
What an emergency room can do will be limited, even under these circumstances. A missing tooth will still require a trip to the dentist, as likely will a facial injury (to rule out any unseen damage to the tooth). Moreover, emergency rooms probably will not be able to diagnose tooth pain that does not have an obvious cause, such as illness or injury, and while their doctors can certainly treat infection and stop excessive bleeding, any pain relief will likely be temporary, to last only until a dentist can be seen.
Dental pain and the emergency room
If a patient is in so much pain because of a tooth that he or she cannot function and over-the-counter remedies are not helping, and if for some reason a dentist is not available, the emergency room may be able to offer pain relief until a patient can be seen by a dentist. However, in most cases, dentists should usually be sought out first to provide the best care to end the tooth pain permanently.
Dental Care in Okemos, Lansing, and East Lansing, Michigan
Dr. Tenaglia is a health-conscious dentist that encourages her patients to live healthy lifestyles, which includes adequate dental hygiene and care when needed. If you would like to learn more about preventive dental care or schedule a consultation, please contact Tenaglia Smiles at (517) 940-8684.